I Missed You
by Dirty Robber
Summary: Booth makes a confession. B&B fluff
1. Chapter 1

**BONES—"I Missed You" Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else associated with the show. **

**Author's note: For this fanfic, Booth is a little out of character…you'll see what I mean. Hope you enjoy. This takes place after "The Man on the Fairway".**

**Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, 9 pm**

Dr. Temperance Brennan sighed heavily as she finished the last keystroke of her report for the latest FBI case she had worked with Special Agent Seely Booth. She leaned back in her chair, surveyed her surroundings and began to massage her temples. Her head had begun a slow dull ache a few hours ago, mostly due to lack of sleep and no food. Brennan's stomach let out a low rumble as a reminder that it had been almost 24 hours since her last meal. Brennan glanced at the clock on her desk and noted the time. 'I better get over to Wong Foos before Angela calls,' she thought.

This last case had taken its toll on everyone involved. The skeletal remains of a five-year-old boy had been uncovered as a crew had begun working to demolish an old abandoned house. The problem was that those remains were just the tip of the iceberg, or rather graveyard. The remains of 15 more children were uncovered on the half acre lot—15 children who had been missing for years. Booth had discovered that two of the 15 had been missing for as long as 30 years.

Brennan, Angela, Hodgins and Zack had worked almost non-stop for a week and a half to identify the remains and the killer. All of the young victims, ranging in age from three to seven, had been reported missing from the same small suburban area over the years—the same area where their killer had resided until the day he had died of natural causes. Booth had located most of the family members, many of whom still resided in the area. Brennan had tagged along and watched him as he had informed each family of their loss. She recalled the emotion Booth had shown at each residence, his grief fresh and genuine every time. She instinctively knew that Parker had been weighing heavily on his mind during the case.

Brennan switched off her computer, stood behind her desk and stretched her tired, stiff muscles. Her cell phone began to ring and she smiled as Angela's name appeared on her caller I.D.

"I'm on my way, Angela, I promise," Brennan answered as she picked up her jacket and switched off the lights to her office.

"Yeah, you'd better be, sweetie! We're not the only one who've worked hard this week," Angela reprimanded her friend.

"I'm leaving the office now." Brennan had quickly made her way to her car.

"Well, get over here fast…I can't take much more of drunk, surly, sulky Booth." Angela sighed. "I mean drunk and surly I could possibly work with, but sulky…unh-uh."

Brennan paused for a moment. "What do you mean 'drunk'? Booth's drunk?"

"Oh yeah, sweetie. That last time I saw someone this messed up was…well, when you breathed in all that meth at the club." Angela chuckled slightly. "You know, you two are kinda cute when you're under the influence."

Brennan rolled her eyes at her friend's comment. "Ange, make sure he doesn't try to leave before I get there."

Angela tossed Booth's car keys up in the air and caught them as they fell. "One step ahead of you."

**Wong Foos, 9:30 pm**

Brennan stepped into the restaurant and noticed Booth at his usual spot at the bar, drinking another beer. Angela quickly made her way over to her friend. "He's not real happy with us," she remarked as she studied Brennan's concerned face. "It took all three of us to wrestle his keys from him."

Brennan watched Booth for a few moments before replying. "Just leave his keys with Sid."

"Uh, sweetie, what're you going to do?"

"I don't know…I…I'll figure it out in a moment. I need to talk to him."

She approached her partner, with Angela on her heels. She noticed that his jacket was hanging haphazardly on the back of the bar stool. He had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, exposing his strong forearms, and his normally well kept hair was mussed, as though he'd been running his fingers through it.

"Booth?" she asked tentatively, unsure what to expect since she'd never seen Booth inebriated before. His bloodshot chocolate eyes looked up and connected with her bright blue gaze.

"Bones! My Bones! Hey," he replied with a sloppy grin and slightly slurred speech. "Wha'sup? Wanna drink?"

Brennan glanced at Angela who was smiling at the scene in front of her. "Well, he seems better now that he's got his Bones," she laughed.

"Angela…"

"Okay, okay. Here Sid, Booth's Bones wants you to keep up with these," she said as she tossed the keys on the bar. She retreated to the designated squint table as Brennan glared at her.

Brennan took a seat beside her partner and eyed him cautiously. "Booth, are you okay?"

Booth chuckled mirthlessly as he picked up a handful of peanuts from the small bowl sitting in front of him. "Okay? Bones, those kids…Parker is four-years-old, defenseless, vulnerable…like those kids. Someone these people knew…trusted…took kids from that neighborhood for over 30 years!"

The volume of Booth's voice had increased as he had begun speaking. Angela, Hodgins and Zack watched the twosome at the bar in complete silence. They had never see Booth out of control. Sarcastic, yes. Irritated, yes. Awed by Brennan, always, although he would never admit that one.

"And we can't even bring the families justice because the son of bitch is dead! He molested and killed those kids and then he gets lucky and dies of a heart attack," Booth continued his tirade. "He died before anyone could learn the truth about him!"

He stopped to catch his breath and take another gulp of beer. Brennan was unsure what to say or do for her friend, her partner. "Booth…," she whispered as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I just keep thinking about Parker. I'm not always there to protect him," he let out an unsteady breath. "I don't know what I would do if he disappeared or got hurt or…I don't know how you've lived with it all these years…not knowing about your parents."

Brennan tensed slightly at the mention of her parents. She'd given the file she had on her parents to Booth. She trusted him to help her, but discussing them was still difficult for her.

"Booth, your son is fine. He's safe at home with his mother," she stated firmly but gently. "You've have too much to drink, let me drive you home."

Booth rubbed his eyes and looked at her. "You look beat Bones."

Brennan smiled slightly. "I still look better than you." She stood and grabbed his jacket. "Can you stand?"

Booth used the bar to steady himself. "Of course I can stand," he replied as he stumbled around the bar stool. Brennan grabbed his arm to steady him as Angela, Hodgins and Zack approached them.

"Here Booth, put your arm around me," Brennan said as she placed his left arm around her neck.

"Oohh, Bones, I knew you wanted me," he smirked.

Angela laughed. "You got him, sweetie?"

"Yeah…I'm worried about alcohol poisoning though."

"I'd be more worried about him blowing chunks in that sweet ride of yours," Hodgins piped in.

"I don't know what that…," Brennan began as Hodgins pretended to wretch. "Oh, that. I guess I'll drive fast."

"Yeah, cause that'll help," Angela said as she rolled her eyes. "Call me if you need anything."


	2. Chapter 2

**Bones-"I Missed You" Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own them…but oh, how I wish!**

**Temperance Brennan's apartment, 10:30 pm**

"Come on Booth, help me out here," Brennan huffed as she pulled and pushed Booth to the door of her apartment. 'Thank goodness this building has an elevator,' she thought. She managed to unlock the door and get Booth inside. "Just let me lock the door Booth…"

"Bones, Bones, fa-Bones, banana fana fa-Bones…Bones!" Booth shouted and laughed. Brennan groaned as he ended his third rendition of the ridiculous rhyming song.

"Come on, just a few more steps to the couch….and here we go!" Booth sat heavily on the couch and grabbed the lapels of Brennan's jacket, pulling her so close that their faces were just inches from each other.

"Bones…Temperance," he whispered.

"Let go, Booth. I need to get you a pillow and blanket." She extricated herself from his grasp. 'Too close…that was too close,' she thought.

Suddenly she felt a tug on her arm and she fell across Booth's lap onto the couch. Booth moved over her quickly. "Temperance, you remember a couple of weeks ago when I teased you about missing me?" he questioned quietly.

Brennan let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Her pulse was racing and she couldn't collect her thoughts. She was on her back, on her couch, her legs lying across Booth's lap and he was hovering above her, his breath warm on her face and neck.

Booth didn't wait for her response. His eyes were glazed over and his grin crooked. "I teased you, Temperance, but the truth is, _I_ missed _you_."

Her eyes widened at his confession. Before she could process what he had just told her, she felt his lips on hers. Brennan surprised herself when she didn't resist him but allowed him to continue. His lips left hers as he turned his attention to her neck.

"Temperance…," he whispered as he continued his journey.

"Booth," Brennan whispered as she finally found her voice. "We can't…" she stopped when she heard a faint snore escape him.

"Booth." She tried to shake him awake. "Booth." Brennan wriggled from his grasp and off his lap. "I'm glad someone will be able to sleep tonight," she mumbled. "What the hell is wrong with me? I let him kiss me!"

Brennan shook her head in a vain attempt to erase the image of what had happened. 'He's drunk, he didn't mean it and he won't remember it,' she told herself.

'Yeah, but _you_ will,' replied a voice that sounded distinctly like Angela.

Silently damning Booth, Brennan removed his shoes and placed a blanket over his sleeping form. She shuffled off to her bedroom, knowing that sleep would not come easy that night.

**Temperance Brennan's apartment, 7 am**

Booth tried to move but found that his body hurt and was stiff. His eyes fluttered open and he discovered that his head hurt worse than anything. He slowly sat up and realized that he was not in his apartment. After blinking several times and allowing his eyes to adjust, Booth realized it was Brennan's apartment. 'Numerous books, no television…how the hell can you live without a television?' his train of thought veered off course for a moment. 'Wait, how'd I get here?'

He stood and quickly regretted the movement. He slowly walked around the couch and headed for the hallway. He stopped and debated which door led to the bathroom and which led to Bones' bedroom. Booth braced himself, and his aching head, for a lecture if he walked into her bedroom. He placed his hand on the doorknob of the door nearest him and then paused.

'What if she's in the shower?' Booth's head was suddenly filled with images of a wet, naked Bones, quickly followed by an image of her fist connecting with his jaw.

Booth covered his eyes and loudly announced his presence. "Okay, Bones, I don't know where your bathroom is…" He slowly opened the door and waited for her to reprimand him. When he didn't hear anything, he uncovered his eyes and found that he had made the right choice. "Gut instinct, baby," he murmured to himself.

He glanced at the mirror of the medicine cabinet and noticed a piece of paper taped to it. Booth removed the note and quickly read through it, noting that Bones had a nice script for someone with the title of doctor.

_Booth_

_There's aspirin in the medicine cabinet. Help yourself to coffee in the kitchen. You can return my spare key to me later. Your car and keys are at the restaurant._

_Brennan_

Booth looked at himself in the mirror, noticing his bloodshot eyes, mussed hair and morning growth on his face. A part of him was relieved that Bones had already left for work. He couldn't remember anything from last night but he desperately hoped that he had not embarrassed himself in front of her. Worse, he hoped that he had not inadvertently said anything to hurt or upset her. 'Is that why she's not here? Did I do something stupid last night?'

He quickly shook that thought from his head, glancing at his watch and noticing the time. 'She's a workaholic…she's probably at work this early every morning.'

Booth doused his face with cold water and pulled the bottle of aspirin from the medicine cabinet, quickly downing a few tablets. He had decided to take the week off from work to spend time with Parker. The images of the remains of the dead children entered his mind, causing him to cringe. Time with his son was what he needed, time to decompress and enjoy the living.

He briefly wondered how Bones decompressed after a tough case like this last one. Booth knew that she had an uncanny ability to detach her emotions and stick to the facts on a case, but he also knew that sooner or later, the emotions had to catch up to her. He vowed to check on her when he returned her key after his week with Parker.


	3. Chapter 3

**Bones-"I Missed You"—Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, they're still not mine!**

**Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. Glad you're enjoying this so far...sorry about listing the fic as complete. That's what happens when you post a story after only getting 2 hours of sleep! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy and now I need to go finish writing this little ditty. **

**Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab, 11 am**

Angela watched her friend as she studied the remains of a World War I pilot whose body had recently been discovered in the mountains of Colorado. She noticed that Brennan had been grumpy and had apparently not slept well last night. Angela briefly allowed her mind to wander and imagined a wild tryst between her best friend and a certain handsome FBI agent. She had not questioned Brennan since she was even less talkative than usual and Angela took that as a bad sign.

"I can't believe no one found this guy before," Zack stated to an uninterested audience. "I mean, he disappeared during a training exercise. Didn't they search for him?"

"The government is busy with more important things, Zack," Hodgins said pointedly. "Things like major cover-ups, defrauding the American people, hiding alien life forms in New Mexico…"

"How very 'X-Files' of you," Angela smirked.

"Do you honestly believe that our government tells us the truth on all matters," Hodgins heatedly questioned.

"Oh my god, get a grip!" Angela refused to indulge Hodgins' conspiracy theory rants on the government.

Brennan glanced up at Angela and Hodgins and sighed. She stood up, placed her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and glared at them with icy blue eyes. "If you two don't have anything useful to add to this case, you can leave," she announced. She turned her attention to her protégé. "Zack, I want you to go over every inch of the remains and log any signs of injuries. It could aid in correctly identifying…"

"But, Dr. Brennan, he was found with his dog tags," Zack interrupted.

Brennan sighed again as she placed her right hand on the back of her neck and attempted to massage some of her tension away. "Zack, we still need to verify the identification through dental records and old x-rays," she said with as much patience as she could muster. She noticed Hodgins and Angela looking at her, waiting for their assignments.

"Well, I guess I'll get started on a face…," Angela began.

"Okay." Brennan continued massaging her neck. 'Where the hell did all of this tension come from?' she wondered silently. Her answer came to her in a flashback of Booth kissing her, his hands roaming.

Angela noticed Brennan's face growing red, but before she could question her, Brennan walked away to what she thought would be the solace of her office.

Several minutes after sitting down at her desk and searching for a misplaced bottle of much needed aspirin, Brennan saw Angela standing in the doorway of her office, smirking at her.

"What?" Brennan questioned. She really did not want to discuss last night's events.

"You tell me what. You've been Dr. Cranky Pants all morning and you obviously have a headache. So what's up?"

"I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Brennan grabbed a bottle of water and quickly downed the few aspirin she had found.

Angela moved further into the office and sat down across from her. "Okay, normally I would make some sexual innuendo, especially since you took big, strapping, handsome, and might I add drunk, Booth back to your place last night….but you are way too grumpy to have had any kind of fun." Angela watched Brennan attempt to ignore her by looking at her computer screen. "He didn't blow chunks in your car, did he?"

"No."

Angela pondered what the problem could be. "You're really not going to tell me?"

"There's nothing to tell," Brennan responded in an irritatingly non-committal tone.

Angela sighed. "Okay, then I'll just guess…hmm…well, I think we've established that you and Booth didn't get it on. So, what else? Maybe…no, you'd tell me about that….or would you?"

"Angela, don't you need to work on that sketch?"

"The only thing I can think of is Booth told you how he feels about you…or he kissed you…or both." Angela threw her hands up in an exasperated manner.

Brennan felt her face grow hot as her mouth fell open.

Angela leaned forward in her chair excitedly. "Holy crap, Batman! I got it right, didn't I!"

Brennan buried her face in her hands. "Three aspirin is not going to be enough," she muttered miserably.


	4. Chapter 4

"**I Missed You"—Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own these wonderful characters.**

**Author's notes: Sorry it's taken so long to problems, real life and work got in the way of my fanfic writing. Thanks for reading and for all of the nice reviews. Enjoy!** **I will attempt to have Chapter 5 up by tomorrow, which is all Booth!**

Angela and Brennan were seated at a small table in a café just a few blocks from the Jeffersonian. Angela had managed to convince her best friend to take a break from the lab and go to lunch, with a side dish of girl talk.

Her dark eyes watched as Brennan took the last bite of the large chef salad she'd ordered. "That's the most I've seen you eat in quite awhile sweetie. What's with the voracious appetite all of sudden?" She smiled slyly, attempting to bait Brennan into giving her details about last night's event.

Brennan continued to chew her last bite of food, contemplating just how much she wanted to tell her overzealous friend. "Well, I didn't get a chance to eat after I picked up Booth at the restaurant…"

Angela smirked slightly as she sipped her iced tea.

"What?" Brennan questioned as confusion creased her brow.

"You 'picked up' Booth," Angela chuckled. She noticed that Brennan's confused look had not changed. "Never mind sweetie. Now, do you wanna tell me what happened…I mean, I know I pretty much guessed what happened, but details would be nice."

Brennan took a sip of her water and eyed her friend carefully. Angela was leaning forward, twirling a piece of her long dark hair around her right index finger with an eager, exuberant look on her pretty face.

Brennan sighed heavily and placed her glass of water on the table. "I want to preface the details of last night's happening by saying it didn't mean anything."

Angela sat up straight in her chair, her dark eyes wide. "_It_? Wait, I didn't guess _it_!"

"Not _that_!" Brennan rubbed her temples, exasperated. "Booth told me that he had missed me and then he…well, he…kissed me."

It took every ounce of Angela's strength to squelch the squeal of excitement she felt bubbling inside of her. "So, how was the kiss?"

"Ange!"

"Come on, on a scale of one to ten, with ten being mind blowing, how was it?"

"I am not answering that question!" Brennan sat back, crossed her arms across her chest and glared at the deliriously happy woman sitting across from her.

"It was mind blowing, wasn't it? I knew it! Booth's just got those kind of full, soft lips…"

"Are you done?" Brennan asked as she tried to force out the thoughts of how soft and full Booth's lips had indeed felt on hers.

Angela continued to stare off dreamily into the distance. "Give me just a moment…"

Brennan rolled her eyes as she admonished her friend. "Angela!"

She chuckled at Brennan's outburst. "Okay, okay. But Bren, if, as you said, it meant nothing, then why are you so out of sorts about it?"

Brennan paused for a moment. "Angela, you know why. Booth and I are partners…_work_ partners. And we're friends, that's all. You and I both know that any sort of relationship outside of work or friendship would place all of the work…very important work, I might add…that we do in jeopardy. It's just not feasible for us to be any more than friends."

Angela stared at her very logical, very obstinate and very stupid friend for a long moment. "Are you done?"

"For the moment," Brennan responded as she took another sip of water.

"Okay, I have heard this 'it-would-be-bad-for-the-partnership-the-work-would-suffer' speech too many times to count. You really need to come up with some better reasons honey 'cause that one is getting old." Angela sat back in her chair watching as Brennan tucked a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear, refusing to look at her. She leaned forward once again and covered Brennan's hands with her own.

"I'm sorry sweetie. That sounded harsher than I intended it to." Angela sighed loudly. "I understand that your work is important to you and you don't want to jeopardize that…really, I do get that. But Bren…."

Brennan moved her hands away from Angela's, her face expressionless. "I shouldn't have mentioned this Angela. Booth was extremely intoxicated and he most likely will not recall what happened. So really, there is no reason for me to be 'out of sorts' as you put it."

"Brennan, you have a right to feel whatever it is you're feeling. You're confused by what happened, right?" Brennan nodded slowly, not liking the psychological turn of the conversation. Angela pressed on before Brennan said anything. "Well, I'm not. You and Booth have had this extraordinary chemistry since the day he walked into the lab. We all knew it would just be a matter of time…"

"We?" Now Brennan did not like the choice of pronoun that Angela had used.

"Well…uh…yeah, we." Angela blushed slightly. "It's not like Hodgins, Zach and I just stand around all day discussing you and Booth, but it's been mentioned."

Just when Brennan thought her headache had dissipated, the pounding ache came back full force. "Oh, god…"

"Look, sweetie, you need to decide if you're going to discuss this with Booth or if you're just going to let it go. And Bren, I know you, you won't be able to let it go. You'll question it just like you do all of the pop culture references Booth throws at you. I vote that you talk to him."

"Angela, my life is not a democracy and therefore, you do not get to vote as to what I will or will not do." Brennan smiled slightly. "With that being said, you're right."

"Of course I am!" Angela sat back in her chair once again, beaming proudly. "Now, on a scale of one to ten…"

Brennan's smile grew wider as she leaned forward across the table. Angela quickly mimicked her movement, waiting for the moment of truth.

"Angela, who the hell is Batman?"

The dark haired woman's smile faded quickly as she sat back in her chair. "Why did I even mention Batman? I_ knew_ you were going to question that reference sooner or later," she replied grumpily.

"Well, you did say that I can't let things like that go…" Brennan replied with a chuckle.

Angela rolled her dark eyes toward the ceiling. "Why do I always have to be right?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5—"I Missed You"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or anything associated with BONES.**

**Author's note: Thanks to everyone for reading (even if you aren't reviewing) and special thanks to those of you who taken the time to review. I hope you all are still enjoying this fic.**

Booth stepped into his apartment with a heavy heart and sighed deeply as he looked around, taking in the emptiness. His home was always so full of life when Parker was there running, laughing and playing like any happy four-year-old boy. After a week with his lively son, Booth's home now felt lifeless.

He tossed his keys on the kitchen counter as he opened his refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. After overindulging on alcohol over a week ago, Booth had decided to have a beer-free fridge for awhile. Just the thought of the cold, frothy beverage made his head hurt. He opened the bottled water and allowed his gaze to rest on his keys—the keys that he had picked up, along with his SUV, at Wong Foos a few hours before picking up his precocious son.

_"Hey Sid, I was told you have my keys."_

_"Yep, sure do." Sid paused as he looked at the young special agent. "You look like hell my friend."_

_Booth rubbed a hand over his face. "Yeah, I know. Hey, did I…did I do anything in here last night that I need to apologize for?"_

_Sid smiled as he tossed Booth's keys to him. "Not to me."_

_He watched as Booth's worried expression deepened. "Not to **you**?" Booth sat down at the bar as realization sank in. "Bones?"_

_Sid simply nodded his response, which irritated Booth greatly._

_"You wanna help me out here Sid? Cause I'm a little hazy on the details."_

_"Hazy or completely clueless?" The smart ass comment earned the older man a trademark Booth glare. He simply chuckled as he continued. "Yeah, I'd say you probably owe the 'Bone lady' an apology…although she seemed to take everything in stride. She was nice enough to come down here, all concerned and then took your sorry drunk ass home."_

_"Oh man…Sid, what, um, what did I say…to Bones?"_

_Sid placed a large mug of steaming coffee on the bar in front of Booth. "Why don't you ask her?"_

_"One, I'm embarrassed and two, well…"_

_"Afraid if you bring it up while you're sober, she'll kick your ass?" Sid laughed at his observation and at Booth's response._

_"Kind of, yeah," he replied sheepishly._

_"Well, let's see. Before your lady got here, you were a sullen, brooding drunken mess. That pretty dark haired girl…"_

_"Angela?" Booth supplied as he picked up the coffee and tentatively took a sip._

_"Yep, her. She tried talking to you, telling you to slow down on the drinking. Then she and the two squinty guys managed to wrangle your keys from you." Sid started laughing again. "You might need to apologize to all of them too…especially the short, angry guy. You kinda played 'keep away' with him, using your keys…"_

_"Bones, Sid! What did I say to Bones!"_

_"You raised your voice to her when she asked if you were okay. You mentioned something about her parents and then you blatantly flirted with her." Sid watched as a horrified expression took over Booth's face. "But as I said, your lady took it all in stride, except when you mentioned her parents."_

_"Shit," Booth mumbled as he placed his head in his hands._

_"She had a real sad, pained look for a second…" Sid began._

_"I get it," Booth snapped at the older man. "I'm sorry Sid, I just…ugh, I can't believe I did that." Booth reached into his pocket to grab some money for the coffee and found Brennan's key inside a crumpled dollar bill. He placed the money on the bar, picked up his keys and began to put the new key on the ring._

_Sid studied the younger man's intense concentration on his current activity. "That key belong to your 'Bone lady'?"_

_Booth simply nodded but didn't respond. "Booth, I don't think you did anything unforgivable last night, okay? You and your lady…you two fight all the time in here and she still puts up with you. Now stop brooding and go pick up your boy. Parker was all you could talk about before you began your mass consumption of beer."_

_Booth smiled slightly as Sid once again referred to Bones as "his lady". He moved away from the bar and headed toward the door. "Thanks Sid," he said over his shoulder as he left._

Now, standing in his kitchen, Booth fiddled with his keys. He had found himself thinking how right the key to Brennan's apartment looked on his key ring throughout the week. Even as he spent time with Parker, thoughts of the pretty forensic anthropologist had entered his mind. He had pondered how she was doing every night after he had put Parker in bed.

He couldn't believe he had raised his voice to her after she'd simply asked if he was okay. The case had been terrible and had affected all of them, even Bones, although she would never allow anyone close enough to see. And he had compounded the effects of the case by bringing up the source of every ounce of pain Bones had felt for the past 15 years.

"Real smooth, dumbass," he muttered to himself.

Pacing between the kitchen and living room of his apartment, Booth debated whether he should call his Bones. He picked up the phone, ready to dial her number, a number that he knew by heart, but was stopped by the nervous twinge in his gut.

'No, no! She could hang up on me…or not pick up at all. In person, it's always better to talk to her in person,' he reasoned silently.

While a part of him was nervous about seeing her in person, another part of him was almost giddy. He had to admit that he had missed her over the last week. He had missed the way the light shone on her auburn-brown hair; the way her light blue eyes flashed with excitement, anger and understanding; the way her brow creased when she was confused or was concentrating on the task at hand; and especially the way she smiled at him—only him—on those rare occasions when she let her guard down.

He sighed again as he picked up his keys and then smiled slightly, knowing that he had the perfect excuse to stop by the lab first thing in the morning to see her. Booth knew that he would accept any consequences that his actions that night at the bar had incurred. He also knew that he would do anything to right any wrong that he'd done to Bones.

Booth removed his shirt as he made his way to his bedroom, determined to get a good night's sleep before facing a possibly angry or hurt Bones in the morning.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6—I Missed You**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything associated with BONES.**

**Author's notes: Thank you all for reading and for the nice reviews. I too would not mind if Booth appeared in Brennan's office shirtless to extend his, um, apology…but I think it might be a little out of character. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I think there might be one or two more left. I'll figure it out when I finish writing it.**

Angela moved swiftly down the hallway toward Brennan's office with a cup of coffee in each hand. She stopped briefly at the doorway of the office and smile widely as Brennan's head turned quickly toward her.

"Oh, hey Ange." Brennan turned back to her monitor and continued checking her email.

Angela almost laughed at the disappointment that had momentarily graced Brennan's face. "Expecting someone else?"

"No, I wasn't **_expecting_** anyone."

"Uh-uh, right." Angela walked over to Brennan's desk and placed one of the coffee cups in front of her friend. "You thought it was Booth. Better yet, you hoped it was Booth." She took a seat across from Brennan and watched as the anthropologist attempted to ignore her.

"Did not," Brennan mumbled like a petulant child.

Smiling at Brennan's not so convincing denial, Angela quietly drank her coffee. Unfortunately for Brennan the silence didn't last long.

"You know, Bren, you did the same thing everyday last week."

Brennan turned away from her monitor and stared at her friend. "Did what?"

"You would look up every time someone entered your office or the platform area like you were expecting…"

"Do **not** finish that sentence." Brennan leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed and a defiant look on her face.

"So, you deny it?"

"Absolutely."

"Uh-uh." Angela continued to drink her coffee as she and Brennan became engaged in a staring contest. "Might want to drink your coffee before it gets cold," Angela said, gesturing toward the cup she had placed on Brennan's desk.

Brennan broke eye contact and reached for her coffee. "You're welcome, by the way," she heard Angela mumble as she took a sip.

A knock on her office door catapulted Brennan's attention to the entrance of her office, an expectant look on her face once again.

"Hi Angela. Good morning Dr. Brennan. Has, um, Agent Booth come in with a new case or should I continue working on the remains of the Revolutionary War soldier?" Zach Addy stood timidly in the doorway waiting for his mentor to give him his working orders.

Angela saw the crestfallen look on Brennan's face as she, once again, did not see a certain hunky FBI agent at her door.

"Waiting for your mommy's orders there Zach?" Hodgins asked as he pushed past the young assistant and entered Brennan's office. Noticing the glare that the good doctor was directing at him, Hodgins stopped in his tracks. "I meant mommy in the most respectful way, of course."

Angela choked on the coffee she'd been drinking before sputtering out a small laugh and then continued drinking.

Hodgins glanced at the coffee cup in Brennan's hand and the cup in Angela's hand. "So, I guess you have to be part of the estrogen brigade for someone to bring you a coffee around here?"

"You prefer herbal tea," Zach replied, causing Angela to choke again.

Hodgins turned to the young man angrily. "Not the point, Zach," he responded through clenched teeth. "It would be nice to come to work and be offered a nice cup of coffee…and maybe some breakfast food or pastry." He turned and looked pointedly at Angela, who simply grinned at him.

"I couldn't agree with you more," came a familiar voice from the doorway. All eyes turned to find Booth standing with a tray of coffee drinks in one hand, a bag of bagels in the other and a charming smile plastered on his face.

Brennan felt her face flush as she stared at her partner. Angela didn't miss the effect that seeing Booth had on her friend. She decided to remain silent and see what would transpire between the two.

"Agent Booth, you brought us coffee and bagels?"

"You've got a knack for stating the obvious there Zach," he replied as he offered the young man a drink and a bagel. He then walked into the office toward Hodgins who eyed him warily.

"What? You're not going to make me jump up and down and try to take the coffee out of your hand?" inquired Hodgins as he popped the rubber band around his wrist.

"Well, I wasn't planning on it…the coffee's a little hot…" Booth smiled at the entomologist. "I'm, um, sorry about the thing with the keys. Sid told me about it."

Taking one of the coffees and a bagel from the bag, Hodgins moved to leave the office. He stopped at the doorway and turned back to face Booth. "Just so you know, 5'10 is considered average height for a man."

"You're not 5'10," Zach said as he bit into his bagel.

Hodgins turned angrily, pushing Zach out the door. "You **really** need to shut up today!"

Booth chuckled as he watched the duo walk toward the platform area. "I actually missed those two," he said as he shook his head.

"Are they the only ones you missed?" Angela asked, attempting to pull off an innocent look as Brennan glared at her.

Booth turned to face the two women. "No, of course not." He smiled as he offered Angela a coffee. "Oh, the one on the right is Bones'. I ordered it just the way she likes it."

"Really? Just the way she likes it, huh?" Angela took the other coffee and stood up. "Oh Booth, you're just an angel….I could just kiss you."

"Angela!" Brennan's outburst garnered Booth's full attention.

"Easy Bones, I never make out with a pretty woman while I'm on duty," he teased. Turning back to Angela, Booth winked playfully.

"Well, before I get into any further trouble, I will take my apparent caffeine addiction to my own office." Angela moved toward the door and then looked back at her friend, who was avoiding all eye contact at the moment. "See ya later, Booth. And Bren?"

Brennan glanced over at her friend.

"You did it again." Wearing a smile that could be seen from a space shuttle, Angela scurried out of the office. Brennan simply rolled her eyes and turned back to her monitor.

Booth took Angela's seat across from Brennan. He leaned forward and offered her the last coffee and a bagel. She took both items from him and placed them on her desk.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome Bones." Brennan felt her stomach flutter at the nickname he'd graced her with. _'What is wrong with me?'_

"So, Britney Spears, what did you do again?" He watched as she looked at him, confusion evident on her pretty features. _'Wait for it, wait for it.'_

"I don't know what that means."

_'God, it's good to be back.'_ He smiled at her. "I know you don't Bones. In fact, I might be a little worried about you if you did." He found it so easy to fall back into their banter, but he felt that something was a little off. He noticed that she had been very quiet since he had arrived. _'Shit, she's mad.'_

"So, uh, Bones," Booth began as he tore off a piece of the bagel that he'd bought for himself, "you doing okay?"

_'Don't look at him. Don't look at those big brown eyes or those soft lips.'_ Straightening slightly in her seat, Brennan studied her monitor intensely. "I'm fine," she replied.

He chewed on the bagel piece and watched her. _'Yep, definitely mad.'_

"You know Bones, I was, uh, worried about you."

"Why? There's no reason to worry. I'm fine." She began typing a response to one of her emails to distract herself from his presence.

"This last case…you know….it was pretty bad. I didn't deal with it very well, what with the whole drinking episode." He watched as she continued to type and ignore him. "So, um, how did you deal with it…the case, I mean?"

"I took an inebriated, singing federal agent back to my apartment." She stopped typing and turned her attention to a file lying on her desk.

"Singing?" Booth mentally kicked himself for adding to the embarrassment quota of that one drunken evening.

"Yep, singing." Head down, she attempted to peruse the contents of the file.

"Please tell me it was something manly, at least. AC/DC, Areosmith, Black Sabbath?"

"Do they sing something about bananas?"

"Bananas?" The ringing of Booth's cell phone halted any further questions from the agent.

Sliding the phone out of his jacket pocket, Booth flipped it open and answered it. "Booth."

"Agent Booth, are you planning on coming into the office today?" Deputy Director Cullen's voice boomed in Booth's ear.

"Yes, sir. I'm on my way. I just needed to stop by the Jeffersonian and check on my…uh, the squints."

"Check on your squints or Dr. Brennan?"

"Uh…" Cullen's response had left Booth slightly surprised.

"Well, that answers that question. Agent Booth, when you've ensured to your satisfaction that Dr. Brennan can survive, at least the next few hours, without you, I want to see you in my office."

"New case, sir?"

"No, just tying up a few things on the last one. You have 30 minutes, Booth."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh and Booth, tell your lady scientist I said hello."

Booth heard the dial tone in his ear and closed his phone.

"Cullen?" Brennan asked, still perusing the same page of the file.

"Yeah, I need to go to the office." He stood and straightened his tie. "Hey Bones, would you like to go to lunch?"

"I'm busy today Booth."

He sighed as he watched her continue to ignore him. _'Maybe I should leave her alone. No, she's had a week to cool off, leaving her alone now is not going to help.'_

Booth leaned across her desk, placed his right index finger under Brennan's chin and forced her to look up at him.

Brennan felt her skin tingle and her heart rate increase as she looked into Booth's face, which was just inches from hers.

"Bones, please. I think we have a few things to discuss. Is one o'clock okay?"

Speechless, Brennan simply nodded. Booth smiled at her, glad that she had relented. "Good. I'll pick you up. Later Bones."

She watched as her partner sauntered out of her office and Angela came bounding in.

"Okay, sweetie, you completely left out the detail about Booth singing. It's those type of details that really help me visualize what happened." Angela sat down, occupying her original seat. "So…spill."

Brennan placed her head on her desk, wishing she had locked her office door that morning.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7—I Missed You**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own them…not even Booth, darn it!**

**Author's note: Again I thank all of you for reading and reviewing. Foxie Roxie, Booth playing "keep away" with Hodgins basically consisted of him holding his keys out of Hodgins' reach. And WOATCAPIITON…I don't think you're crazy…but just in case I'm going to have Booth send you an entire box of bagels. Hope you enjoy this chapter…but be warned….Brennan did not want to play well with others today.**

Booth pulled his SUV into the parking structure of the Jeffersonian a little before one o'clock, strumming his fingers on the steering wheel in rhythm to AC/DC's "Black in Black", which was blaring from the speakers.

He quickly parked and made his way inside the building, his brown eyes searching for Brennan's as he walked along. Upon entering the lab area, Booth spotted his partner standing on the platform with the rest of the squints. He scanned his ID card and walked up the stairs, joining them.

"So, whatcha working on there?" Booth rubbed his hands together and smiled.

Zach turned to face him. "Its human skeletal remains, Agent Booth."

Booth glared at the Brennan's young protégé with a modicum of disdain. "I was on vacation for a week, not in the nuthouse having a freakin' lobotomy…I know it's a dead body."

Brennan glanced up at Booth with the intention of telling him to lay off of her assistant. Instead she noticed the way the fabric of his shirt stretched across his broad chest as he placed his hands on his hips and quickly closed her mouth. She refocused her gaze on the remains lying on the table in front of her.

"I, uh, I…" Zach stammered under Booth's scrutiny.

"Well, we weren't sure since you were behaving like a moron last week at Wong Foos." Hodgins stepped forward, placing himself between the agent and the cowering young man.

"Jack…" Angela warned from her position beside Brennan.

Hodgins grinned at Booth, who smiled in return. "He's right Angela. I did act like a moron."

Angela stepped around the examination table and stood beside Hodgins. "Booth, please don't say things like 'you're right' to Hodgins—it only feeds his delusions of grandeur."

Striking a Booth-like pose, with his hands on his hips, Hodgins wagged his eyebrows up and down at Angela. "You know it baby."

"Oh please," she said as she watched Booth walk over to Brennan.

"So, Bones, you ready to go?"

Brennan stiffened slightly at the close proximity of Booth's body to hers. She cleared her throat, focusing all of her energy on not looking at her handsome partner. "Give me just a few minutes Booth."

Booth leaned down, almost cheek to cheek with Brennan, who was studying the skull of the body lying on the table. "Maybe it's just me Bones, but I don't think he's going anywhere." He nudged her with his shoulder slightly. "Come on…I know you're hungry."

With a deep sigh, Brennan stood up. "Fine, let me get my jacket."

"Lunch? You know, lunch sounds good," Hodgins said. "So, where are we goi..AHHHHHHHH!"

Booth, Brennan and Zach were startled as Hodgins screamed out in pain.

"What the hell did you do that for Angela!" Hodgins screamed at the dark haired woman as he sat down on one of the chairs, rubbing his right foot.

With an innocent, apologetic smile, Angela shrugged. "I thought I saw a spider on your foot."

"So you decided to grind it into my foot with your heel!"

Brennan rolled her eyes as she walked down the stairs. Booth simply chuckled as he followed her while Zach began searching the platform for the spider.

Angela pulled Hodgins close to her. "What is wrong with you?"

"Well at the moment I have a severe shooting pain in my right foot!" he seethed.

"Try to ruin another matchmaking moment between Bren and Booth and you'll be feeling pain in another, more sensitive, part of your anatomy." Releasing the lapel of his lab coat, Angela stalked off the platform.

"Feisty," Hodgins muttered as he watched her walk away.

Booth also watched as Angela stalked away as he stood in the doorway to Brennan's office. He made a mental note to thank her later for ensuring that no one interfered with his lunch with Bones.

He turned his head and saw Brennan hanging up her lab coat. She reached behind her head and released her hair from its ponytail. Booth gulped as he watched her run her fingers through her long wavy hair.

"Booth?"

"Huh? Yeah Bones?" He looked away for a moment, attempting to regain some control.

"I said I'm ready to go." Brennan wondered briefly where Booth's mind had wandered off to. When he turned his sable gaze back to her, it was Brennan's turn to look away. She pulled her jacket tighter around her as she recalled Booth's lips on her.

"Bones, you okay?"

"Fine, I'm fine…let's go." Brennan walked past him and started down the hallway. Booth quickly caught up with her, falling into step beside her and placed his hand in its rightful place at the small of her back.

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Booth managed to find a parking space relatively close to the entrance of Wong Foos. The short ride from the Jeffersonian had been mostly silent. Booth had attempted to locate a decent radio station while Brennan had stared out the passenger's side window.

Brennan climbed out of the SUV before Booth had the chance to come around and open her door. He did manage to reach the door of the restaurant before she did and opened it for her. Booth waited for her to playfully berate him for his old-fashioned ways and was disappointed when Brennan simply walked past him, offering no commentary on his actions.

Sid watched as the couple entered the restaurant and sat in a booth on the other side of the room. He smiled, recognizing the nervousness of both parties. Making his way across the room, Sid placed two glasses of water on the table.

"Booth, Dr. Brennan…want to order or…"

"I think we'll let you choose Sid," Booth replied with a smile.

"Dr. Brennan?" Sid turned toward her.

"I agree with Booth. You always make a good choice." She smiled slightly t the older man.

"Good deal. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Booth and Brennan watched him walk to the kitchen area. Brennan picked up a paper napkin that was lying on the table and began folding the corners of it. Booth watched her hands as they nimbly moved across the napkin. He found himself wondering how her hands would feel on his body.

"You said we needed to talk?" Brennan continued her task without looking at Booth.

"Hmm…oh, yeah…we, uh, we do." Reigning in his imagination, Booth shifted slightly, moving closer to Brennan. "I think we need to talk about what happened last week…my behavior, I mean."

Brennan finally allowed her gaze to rest on Booth. "Okay," she said softly.

"I…I am really sorry for…uh, for mentioning your parents while I was drunk." Booth's voice was low and even. "I hope you know that I would **never** do anything to purposefully hurt you Bones. And I'm ashamed at the way I dealt with my emotions at the end of the case."

Brennan cringed slightly at the mention of her parents but her gaze never strayed from Booth's face. "Booth…you…I know that you didn't mention them to hurt me. You don't have to apologize for that."

He sighed as he watched her. "Yeah, I do Bones. I haven't been that drunk or done something that stupid in…well, it's been a good long while." He smiled sheepishly at her, causing her heart to race.

Sid approached their table and placed their lunch in front of them. "Need anything else?" He smiled as the couple jumped slightly, startled by his sudden appearance.

"No thanks Sid." Booth picked up his fork and glanced at Brennan. "Looks good, huh?" he said as he licked his lips.

Brennan blushed and quickly averted her gaze once again. "You have no idea," she mumbled.

Sid chuckled as he left them to eat their lunch. Booth watched Brennan as she skillfully used her chopsticks to pick up the pieces of chicken and stir fried vegetables on her plate. He noticed that she still seemed a little tense and was avoiding eye contact with him. _'Okay, I apologized, she accepted…something else is wrong here.'_

Deciding it would be best to question Brennan later, Booth sat beside his partner in a companionable, if somewhat tense, silence and ate his sweet and sour pork.

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The silence continued in the SUV on their trip back to the Jeffersonian. Booth regularly stole glances at his passenger who seemed a little too interested in the passing buildings outside her window.

He slowly pulled the SUV into the parking structure and looked over at Brennan, who was unbuckling her seatbelt.

"I missed you Bones…last week." He moved slightly in his seat to face her.

Brennan slowly raised her head and stared at him. Narrowing her eyes, she leaned forward, surprising Booth. "Are you drunk again?"

Booth was momentarily taken aback by her question. "What! No! Bones, we just had lunch together—you know I didn't drink anything but water. What…what the hell is wrong with you!"

"Nothing is wrong with **me**!" Brennan replied defensively.

"The hell it's not! You've been acting weird since I showed up at your office this morning with coffee and bagels!" The exasperation in Booth's voice was evident.

Brennan threw open the door of the SUV and stepped out. She turned back to face him. "I believe that you showing up with coffee and bagels this morning is the epitome of weird behavior!" she said as she slammed the door shut.

"Oh no you don't," he muttered as he grabbed his keys from the ignition and jumped out.

"Bones! Just tell me what's wrong," he shouted at her as she continued walking away.

"Nothing is wrong," she threw over her shoulder, never once breaking her stride.

"Yes, it is. Did I do something? Did Angela? Hodgins? Zach? Goodman?" Finally catching up to her, Booth grabbed her arm, forcing Brennan to turn around and face him. "Bones, I just named every person in your very limited social circle…"

Fiery blue eyes traveled to Booth's hand grasping her left arm, causing Booth to quickly remove the offending hand. "Booth, you are skiing on very thin water…"

"Skating on thin ice, Bones…it's skating on thin ice! How the hell could you not know **that**! I'm going to buy you a book that contains all of the phrases that every normal person knows so you can study up!"

Brennan narrowed her eyes again. "Well, here's one phrase I know very well…Go to hell!"

Turning on her heel, Brennan stormed away from the confused agent. "I'm surprised you even knew that one!" he shouted at her retreating form.

Booth stood in the parking structure for a few moments wondering how he had gone from being excited to see Bones just that morning to wanting to throttle her at that moment.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8—I Missed You**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything else associated with BONES.**

**Author's notes: Thank you all again for reading and reviewing. I'm glad that so many of you seemed to enjoy this story. This is the last chapter of this particular story but I do have ideas and outlines for a few others. Hopefully I will find time to write one or all of those ideas soon. Thanks again!**

The sound of Brennan's footsteps in the lab caught Angela's attention from the platform, where she sat sketching while Hodgins and Zach argued over some inane science fiction movie that she'd never heard of. She glanced up and caught the image of her best friend hurriedly walking toward her office…with no Booth in sight. The slamming of Brennan's office door confirmed Angela's fear that lunch had not gone so well.

"Perhaps if we all had gone to lunch, there would not be an angry Brennan sulking in her office right now," Hodgins said in an 'I-told-you-so' tone.

Angela tossed an irritated glare at him as she placed her sketchbook on the table and left to check on Brennan. The only problem was Brennan had made it difficult for anyone to check on her, since she had locked her office door.

"Bren, sweetie, your door's locked." No answer. "You know that I need to be in the room with you in order to dispense my wisdom, right?" Still no answer. "Oookaayy then…I can take a hint." She paused to see if Brennan might relent and open the door. Then she slowly backed away just in case the wrath of Brennan decided to come out.

Inside the office, Brennan sat at her desk listening to her friend attempting to coax her into letting her in…into the office and into Brennan's psyche. She knew that Angela had been right about talking to Booth about the kiss, but it seemed that every time Booth was around, Brennan suddenly became completely tongue tied…except of course when she was yelling at the poor guy for no reason whatsoever.

She grimaced as she recalled the look on Booth's face as she'd told him to go to hell. He had been nothing but sweet, caring and apologetic since he had shown up at her office that morning. Brennan was shocked that he had been so worried about mentioning her parents and possibly hurting her. She had waited for him to mention the kissing incident, but apparently he really did not remember it. So Brennan had decided that maybe, just maybe, Angela had been wrong and she didn't need to discuss what had happened with Booth. She had honestly thought that if she gave it just a little bit of time, she could get the image of Booth kissing her out of her mind.

Of course, that little theory got shot all to hell when he had announced, while stone cold sober, that he had missed her last week. Brennan had anticipated Booth making another move…and she knew that if that happened, it would be completely different from the first time. Booth would be in full control of all of his senses and she knew that she would not have the will power or the desire to stop him. So she had lashed out, engaged him in an argument and then walked away…the safe option…the only option….god, she was an idiot. Brennan placed her head in her hands and contemplated calling Booth. She settled for calling it a day, leaving the lab early and placing as much distance as she could between herself and her busybody artist friend.

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Booth laid on the horn as another driver cut him off in traffic. "Are you kidding me with this?"

He couldn't believe that he had missed that insufferable, obstinate, ornery, albeit beautiful, woman last week and then had told her as much. He should have known that blurting something like that out to someone like Bones was a mistake. Then she had questioned if he had been drinking again! As if that was the only way that someone might tell her that they had missed her.

Booth was five minutes away from the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building and traffic was now at a standstill…much like his relationship with Bones. Agitated, he ran his hand over his face and stared straight ahead. The shrill ringing of his cell phone did nothing to improve his mood. Without looking at his caller ID, Booth answered the phone a bit more curtly than usual.

"What?"

"Having a bad day Agent Booth?" questioned Deputy Director Cullen.

Booth cleared his throat and attempted to regain control of temper. "Sorry sir, I'm stuck in traffic. I will be back in the office in the next 10 minutes, hopefully."

"You and Dr. Brennan had a fight, didn't you?"

Booth paused and looked outside of his vehicle at the other drivers. "Uh, sir, have you been following me?"

Cullen laughed a little at Booth's paranoia. "No, Booth, I haven't. You weren't in the office for lunch so I deduced that you went to see Dr. Brennan. You answered your phone like a man who just had a huge fight with the misses so I deduced that you two have obviously had another argument. Trust me, Booth, anyone who knows you two could have figured it out."

Booth paused for a moment. Anyone could have figured it out except Bones apparently.

When Booth didn't answer, Cullen continued. "Actually Booth, I called to let you know that there has been a pretty serious accident on one of the streets you generally take on your way back from the Jeffersonian...but I guess you've figured that out. I'll see you in 10 minutes…hopefully."

"Yes, sir." Booth closed his phone and started to place it back in his jacket. He briefly thought about calling her but decided against it. He knew that he was still a little too angry about her reaction to his small confession. Traffic finally allowed Booth to reach his destination. He pulled into his usual parking space and climbed out of the SUV. Just as he was about to pocket his keys, he saw the key to Brennan's apartment still proudly displayed on his key ring. He sighed, knowing that he would need to see her again that evening.

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Brennan sat in her apartment with her laptop, attempting to write another chapter of her current manuscript. She found the task of writing a bit taxing at the moment since she had written and rewritten the same sentence 50 different ways in the last five minutes. She sighed as she looked over at her couch…the scene of the lustful crime. Leaning her head back, Brennan closed her eyes and allowed herself to remember the pressure of Booth's lips on hers and the feel of his large warm hands snaking over her body. Why did the thought of giving in to someone who obviously cared for her, and for whom she greatly cared for, disturb her so much?

Before she had time to explore the thought any further, her doorbell rang. Brennan groaned as she placed her laptop on the table in front of her and lifted herself out of the seat. She braced herself for a barrage of Angela's questions since she had managed to leave the lab undetected earlier. Brennan opened the door to find Booth standing there, a small smile on his face.

She took in his rumpled appearance with his loosened tie and the two top buttons of his shirt undone and found it hard to resist throwing her arms around him at that moment.

Instead she opted for a smart ass remark. "What…no coffee and bagels?"

"That's actually my next stop…you know, before hell." He grinned at her cheekily.

She found herself smiling in return and granting him access into her apartment.

He walked in, removed his jacket and placed it on the one of the bar stools at her kitchen counter.

As he turned to face her, they spoke at the same time. "I'm sorry." Another exchange of smiles broke some of the tension.

Brennan stepped forward and studied him for a moment. "Would you like a drink Booth? A beer?"

Booth scrunched his face up at the mention of beer. "No…no beer…I think I've had enough of beer for awhile. Got any juice?"

She smiled as she opened her refrigerator. "Sure. Apple?"

"Yeah, sure."

She poured a glass for him and handed it to him from the other side of the counter. He noticed the distance that she seemed to be keeping from him. He drank the juice and watched her as she stared at him.

"Okay Bones…I don't know about you but I'm done with the niceties. Now, without yelling at me or sending me off to eternal damnation, will you please tell me what's wrong?"

Brennan gazed into his brown eyes that seemed to be pleading with her. "I…I'm not sure where to start…" Okay, Angela was right. Talking to Booth about what happened that night would help...clear the air…put things to rest….and all of those other phrases that Angela had used that day in the café.

"Well, let's start with…I don't know…telling me if I'm part of the problem."

"Yes, you are." Her blunt answer stopped his heart.

"Okay…now the next step would be telling me exactly what I've done." Booth held his breath in anticipation, not knowing what to expect.

"You kissed me." Brennan watched as Booth's mouth fell open.

"I did what? When?"

"The night I brought you back here. I helped you to the sofa and you…managed to pull me onto the sofa and then….you mentioned something about missing me and then…" Her voice trailed off as she watched him take in her less than eloquent delivery ofthe information.

"I honestly don't remember that. I am…" Booth stopped as a realization dawned upon him, causing a huge smile to break out on his face.

"What? What are you smiling about? Booth?" Brennan watched as he walked around the counter toward her.

"I don't recall waking up with a black eye or a broken bone, Bones and I have to wonder why." The look he was giving her caused her heart to flutter.

"I don't know what…you're getting at Booth." She walked backward straight into the door of her refrigerator. Booth placed one hand on the door and the other on the counter next to the fridge, trapping her.

"You liked it," he said softly. "You liked it when I kissed you. Otherwise you would not have hesitated to break my arm."

"What makes you think I won't break your arm now?" she replied even as she felt herknees buckle slightly.

Booth dipped his face close to her, playing the odds that he was right. He softly placed his mouth on hers and wondered how he could have ever forgotten what she tasted like. He pulled away and watched as she opened her eyes. "You freaked out earlier because you thought that was going to happen again, didn't you?"

Brennan nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

Booth flashed her a charm smile. "Still no broken bones. Must not have been that bad, huh?"

Pushing his luck a little further, Booth placed his mouth on hers again and was pleased to find his efforts being reciprocated. He broke the kiss before they got too carried away and looked at her.

"Booth?"

"Yeah Bones?"

She smiled up at him as she placed her hands on his chest. "I missed you too."

He laughed softly. "And to think I just came by to apologize, again, and return your spare key."

Placing her arms around his neck, she pulled him close. "Keep it…I have a feeling you're going to be using it."

**Author's notes: I know, I know…Brennan and Booth both seemed a little out of character. I had intended to stay within the canon of the show but I decided to try this instead. On the bright side, I didn't injure or kill either of them. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to post a new fic soon.**


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